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(12/16/11) After several months of discussion with the APWU, postal management has agreed to eliminate the use of “dually appointed” Rural Carrier Associates and Postal Support Employees (PSEs). In accordance with a letter dated Dec. 7 [PDF], the dual appointments will end no later than Jan. 13, 2012.
As a result, there are now no circumstances [...]
The House of Representatives voted 243-193 on Dec. 13 to pass the so-called “Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011,” which would cut take-home pay for postal and federal workers by increasing their contributions to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). The bill also would [...]
An arbitration hearing began on Dec. 13, 2011, on the first two of several disputes that arose when management incorrectly implemented new provisions of the 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement. The disputes involve the placement of newly converted full-time employees into non-traditional schedules, and the denial of retreats rights to Clerk Craft employees on posted Non-Traditional [...]
Twenty senators are asking Congress to impose a six-month moratorium on USPS plans to consolidate more than 250 mail processing plants, close thousands of post offices, and eliminate overnight mail delivery, in order to give lawmakers an opportunity to consider postal reform legislation.
The senators have asked Majority Leader Harry Reid to include language in the [...]
Time is running out for postal employees involved in the Walker Class-Action lawsuit to return questionnaires they recently received from the Postal Service. The class-action complaint alleges the USPS discriminated against the employees on the basis of disability; the questionnaire [PDF] is about damages the employees may have suffered.
An Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Administrative Judge [...]
USPS Plan Will Hasten Demise Of a Still-Vital Institution
Degrading Mail Service Will Hurt, Not Help, USPS
“The Postal Service plan will hasten the demise of the USPS,” APWU President Cliff Guffey said in response to the agency’s announcement that it would seek an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission on plans to eliminate next-day delivery [...]
APWU-Supported Workers’ Compensation Bill Passes House
Legislator Criticizes Postal Bills’ Approach to Injured Workers
The House of Representatives passed bi-partisan legislation supported by the APWU to update benefits for injured federal and postal workers on Nov. 29. Introduced in the House by Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN), the bill was co-sponsored by Ranking [...]
APWU News
Sen. Sanders’ Bill Addresses USPS Crisis
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) recently introduced the Postal Service Protection Act (S. 1853 [PDF]), a bill that would go a long way toward resolving the USPS financial crisis, Legislative and Political Director Myke Reid reports.
“Sen. Sanders’ bill gets at the underlying causes of the Postal Service’s dire financial situation, [...]
A bill that would destroy the Postal Service as we know it was approved by a key congressional committee on Oct. 13, and could come up for a vote in the full House at any time. It is urgent that APWU members ask their legislators to vote no on H.R. 2309.
To help APWU members send [...]
Are Those Posted Duty Assignments ‘Desirable?’
The Collective Bargaining Agreement obligates the Postal Service to make “every effort” to create desirable duty assignments from “all available work hours for career employees” when management posts full-time Clerk Craft assignments for bid, Clerk Craft Director Rob Strunk is reminding union members.
“‘Every effort’ means just that,” he noted. “A [...]
Congressman Carter Calls for Post Office Closings Review
USPS Celebrates Alabama’s 14th Football National Championship
Thurgood Marshall, Jr. Elected Chairman of USPS Board of Governors
Battle Over USPS Future Enters Critical Period
USPS to Sell 2011 White Christmas Ornament
GAO Says USPS Mail Trends Highlight Need to Fundamentally Change Business Model
Congressman Kucinich Issues Statement of Support for United States Postal Service Employees